The police had to beef up security yesterday around the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston as a large crowd gathered outside for the first day of the murder trial of dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel and his two co-accused.
Vybz Kartel and his co-accused Lenburgh McDonald and Nigel Thompson appeared before the court charged with the murder of businessman Barrington ‘Bossy’ Burton of Gregory Park, St Catherine, that was shot on Walker’s Avenue in Gregory Park, St Catherine, on July 12, 2011.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Maxine Jackson says the Crown is relying on common design and identification to prove its case that the accused acted together.
Three witnesses have so far testified before Justice Bryan Sykes and the 12-member jury in the Home Circuit Court.
On the second day of Vybz Kartel‘s high profile trial, the prosecution filed a motion to have a statement made by a witness be entered into evidence. The key prosecution witness in the case is not cooperating or is in hiding. The prosecution made the application under section 31(D) of the Evidence Act.
Prosecutor Jackson said the plan was made and arranged on July 11, 2011, and culminated in the execution of Burton the next day. She said the plan was a joint enterprise among the three accused. She stressed that the accused men acted together with common intention to kill or cause serious bodily harm to Burton.
FOR MORE INFO ON VYBZ KARTEL’S TRIAL CLICK HERE
In relation to identification, she said the witnesses were all familiar with the defendants and were not mistaken.
She called for the jury to pay particular attention to the identification evidence. She said it was summer time, and at 6 pm when the incident took place, the lighting was clear.
She said the jurors did not need “a meteorologist or any teacher or boss” to tell them what the daylight condition was at summertime.
LISTEN TO VYBZ KARTEL NEW SONG “COMPASS” HEAD CONCUSSION RECORDS JULY 2013
But so far the first witness for the prosecution was a crime scene investigator who gave a PowerPoint presentation of the area where Burton was shot detailing how he arrived on the scene afterwords.
Also a woman testified that on the evening of July 12, 2011, she was at home when she heard explosions like gunshots.
She said she waited until it was quiet, and when she went to Walker’s Avenue about 6 p.m., she saw Burton lying on his back, with blood on his face, appearing to be dead.
Another “after the fact deposition” that doesn’t really proves any of Addi’s involvement.
